


mirrored and silent

by TheSushiMonster



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-23 20:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1578218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSushiMonster/pseuds/TheSushiMonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's better to remain silent." Jemma doesn't want to hear it, not then, not there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	mirrored and silent

When he closes in on himself, Jemma begins to worry.

"Fitz - "

He shakes his head, twice and sharp, cradling his broken arm to his chest. His eyes remain on his knees and Jemma bites her lip. Barely anything survived the fall, but there are dirty sheets coating the floor. She crawls over and pulls one out.

She feels his eyes on her when she rips the first sheet. The tear steadies her shoulders. She's crystalizing and his eyes are searching her and her back tightens. "Here," she says, avoiding his eyes and focusing on his hand. As she weaves the makeshift sling around him, her hand grazes his skin, but the cool air does little to chill her quickly beating heart. His eyes  _bore_  into her, searching and  _waiting_ , and she can feel words linger on his lips.

"Jemma - " When she finally looks at him, his eyes are dark,  _determined_  and that scares her. The tiny light flickering in her chest dulls faintly. "I need to tell you - "

"No," she says, turning back to the knot of the sling. "Absolutely not."

"Jem - " She pulls the knot too tight and he flinches dramatically. " _Ow,_  bloody hell, Jem - "

"Don't you  _dare."_ She's still looking at the map of dirt stained against the cloth, a grid of what had been. His free hand comes up to cradle her face but she shakes her head and slides away from him.

Her head spins, a mix of memories and fears, and while the inevitability remains at the tip of her fingers, it's too soon to grab his heart and never let go. Another wave slams against their pod and Jemma sinks away from him.

Fitz looks like he's on the verge of tears, lips shaking as he tries to form words. She shakes her head sharply. "I  _need_  to tell you - "

"Don't you  _dare_  Leopold Alexander Fitz!" She breaks apart under blades of gold and plastic spikes that rip apart the brittle cage around her heart. Clenching her fists to stop the shaking, Jemma captures his gaze with narrowed eyes and the flame surges. "Don't you dare say  _anything_  - because that means you've given up. And I will not have you give up, Fitz."

He stares at her. The moment is long and the bones in her hands are weak against the blood that rushes through her. The crystals are melting between her veins and the tears fall slowly. Instead of speaking, he uses his good hand to wipe her cheeks clean.

Instead of speaking, he holds her hand, and somehow that stops the shaking.

As Fitz cradles his left hand in his dirtied sling, his right draws structures of carbon on the back of her palm and Jemma's tears create constellations on her jeans.

Her right hand wraps around her chest, clenching against her heart.

(They stay like that, mirrored and silent, until their fate reaches them.)


End file.
